Improvement in reaming apparatus



4 Slees--Sheet 1.

D W S i PB E L L Reaming-Apparatus. N 0 1 5 8 ,'1 3 8 g. Patented De n. 22, m74,

WHNESSES o. w'. SIPRELL. Roaming-Apparatus.

Patented Dec. 22.1.1874.

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' wwN'gssEs mm UNITED STATES PATENT OF DARIUS WILLIAM SIPRELL, OF RIVIERE DU LOUP, (EN BAS,) ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, ALEXANDER MAURICE DE LISLE, OF MONTREAL, AND ACHILLE FOURNIER, OF RIMOUSKI, CANADA.

IMPROVEMENT IN REAIVHNG APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 158,138, dated December 22, 1874; application filed December 18, 1874.

is applicable also in part to other reaming ap-` paratus.

The first part of the present invention consists in a peculiar tripod-frame for supporting a reamer-rod axially within a well or other vertical bore. The legs of this frame are constructed with swivels and adjustin g-sorews to adapt them to be readily and forcibly extended or shortened, and have feet of a suitable shape to engage with recesses in the surface of the rock or ofthe ground, or in a bed-frame, as the case may be, so as to attach the structure firmly thereto. The central member of the frame consists of a large vertical tube, with a tapering or conical lower end to engage with the upper end of the hole, and to center itself and become rmly wedged therein. The second part of the invention consists in peculiar combination of an endless screw, a swiveled worm-wheel, and other devices, for raising` and lowering the cutters, and for raising or lower ing and simultaneously rotating the same, as hereinafter set foth. The third part of the invention consists in a hand-nut, swiveled to the upper end of a tubular reamer-rod, in combination with a central rod, for projecting and retracting pivoted cutters attached to the latter, with or without a jam-nut for locking the cutters more securely in their different positions.

rlhis improved reamer may be operated by hand or steam power, and is adapted to work in a previously drilled or bored hole of any given length and size, in any matter or substance susceptible of being perforated. The reamer is designed and adapted to cut a chamber at any given place in the bore or hole in which it is used without enlarging the orice ofthe hole. It is also capable of inaking more than one chamber in the same hole Without interfering with or enlarging its orioe, and such chambers may be made of different sizes, if required; and it may be modiiied to cut a single extended chamber by means of two or more pairs of cutters, or to cut two or more chambers simultaneously.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of this improved reamer in a preferred form, represented as at work. Fig. 2 is a plan view-of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2, representing the reamer-rod as elevated out ofthe hole. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a reamer illustrating a modification of this invention. Fig. 5 is an axial section of the same. Fig. 6 is a partial horizontal section on the line 6 6, Fig. 5.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A tripod-frame provides for support-ing and adjusting the workin g parts of this apparatus, and is composed of adjustable legs A, a central vertical tube, B, which isby preference adapted to constitute an axial guide, and a head or table, C, towhich these are attached. rlhe legs are hinged to the table so as to'fold close to the guide-tube B in transportation, and to be expanded so as to afford the necessary extended lateral support in use. They terminate in feet D, havin g, as in the illustra tions, suitably-bent hooks d, to engage in seats picked for them in the surface of the rock or of a bed-frame, and heels cl2 to rest on the surface, or provision for engaging with a surface of soil. These feet serve to attach the apparatus firmly to the surface, in addition to their function of preventing any accidental displacement of the respective legs. rlhe legs are adjustable as to length by means of longitudinal screws a, in combination with nuts a2 and swivels a3, to permit the screwing motion. In. that form of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. l to 3 the screws are rotary,and furnished with hand-wh eels or heads, and are swiveled to the hinge ends of the legs, engaging with the nuts a2, which are fixed at the upper ends of the lower members of the legs. The central tube B of the frame terminates at bottom in a conical or tapering point, b, adapted to center the apparatus relatively to the hole withv which it engages, and to become wedged in the latter, so as to assist in affording lateral support. A tubular reamer-rod, E, is employed in combination with pivoted cutters F of suitable shape, as regards their cutting capacity, for the material in which they are to work. These project through slots in the tubular reamer-rod, and a wedge, e, is introduced in the tube at the lower extremity of its slots, and at right angles thereto, to forcibly project the cutters when they are lowered within the tube.v The latter action is accomplished by an axial rod, G, to the lower' end of which the cutters are attached, preferably, by means `of a pivotal screw or bolt, so as to be quickly removable, an orifice, e2, being provided in the side of the tube to give access to the screw or bolt for removing and replacing the same. Provision is thus made for readily renewing the cutters as they become worn by use. For raising and lowering, and simulta-.

neously rotating, the cutters after they are projected for work, the head or` table C is constructed with a fixed nut or internal screw, c, l

of large diameter, extending upward from the orifice of the guide-tube B; and a screw` sleeve, H, terminating at top in a clamp-rin g, I, is ttcd to this nut c, so as to work therein. The clamp-ring I is provided with radial setscrews i, by tightening which the screw-sleeve H is attached to the rea mer-rod E. Preliminary to lowering the cutters by hand, or by suitable tackle, to the working-point, and elevating them at the conclusion of' the operation, the reamer-rod E is simply released, so as to permit it to slide through the screwsleeve H. A horizontal worm-wheel, J, with a large hub and bore surrounds the screwsleeve H, and is connected thereto by a spline cr internal projection, j, in the hub of' the worm-wheel, engaging with a longitudinal groove, h, in the periphery of the screw-sleeve. rlhe worm-wheel J is attached to the head or table C by a swivel, composed of a vertical fiange, c2, on the latter, a horizontal groove, jz, in the hub or neck of the worm-wheel, and a pair of screws, K, with smooth points projecting through the flange c2, into the groove '2. An endless screw or worm, L, on a horizontal shaft, M, engages with the worm-wheel J. Its shaft is supported in bearings N on the head or table C, and terminates, in the illustrations, in a pair of hand-cranks, O. By these means a steady rotary motion with great power is imparted to the horizontal worin-wheel J, and this is converted by the screw-sleeve H and fixed nut or internal screw e into a vertical movement of the said sleeve, and the reamer-rod clamped therein, which movement is upward or downward, according to the direction in which the shaft is turned. Said motion is also transmitted, without conversion, to the screw-sleeve, and th ere-through -to the reamer-rod, by means of the spline or projection j engaging with the walls of the vertical groove 7o in the screw-sleeve. Irovision is thus made for raising or lowering and simultaneously rotating the cutters. In order to apply steam or other power the shaft M would simply be provided with a pulley or pinion in lieu of one or both of the handcranks 0. The cutters are projected and retracted through the mediums already described, by means of a hand-nut, I, which is swveled to the upper end of the tubular reamer-rod E by means of a sleeve, Q. The rotary hand-nut engages with a screw-thread on the upper end of the cutter-rod G, and a jam-nut, It, on the same thread engaging with the upper surface of the hand-nut P, provides for securely lookin g the cutters in their different positions;

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 the legs A are swiveled in a different manner from those of the machine above described, the screws a constituting the upper members of the legs, whilethe swivels a3 are applied or formed between the feet D and the lower ends of the legs proper, as shown in Fig. 5. The nuts a2 in this case are rotary with the lower members of the legs for adjusting the apparatus. The Xed nut c, Fig. 3, is dispensed with, and a screw-thread is formed within the worin-wheel J and its hub to mesh directly with the thread of the screw-sleeve H. The spline or projection j, displaced within the worm-wheel J, is located beneath the same in the orifice ofthe head or table A, engaging with the groove hin the screw-sleeve, in this case, to prevent the rotation of the latter. In other words the internal screw and spline are transposed in the modification. The clamp-collar I is not formed on or attached to the screwsleeve H in this modification, but rests loosely on the upper end of the same, and is made of a dierent form, consisting of an open ring furnished with external lugs, and a tightening-bolt applied thereto. The rotation of the endless screw or worm L serves in this case simply to Inove the reamer-rod vertically, leaving its rotation to be accomplished by other means, which may consist, as in the illustration, of a T-handle, S, clamped thereto at convenient height. The mechanical details of construction may vary greatly, and constitute no essential part of the present invention, except as herein specified. In either form of the apparatus above described, the inner rod G may be adapted to carry cutters at more than one point, if this be desired, by extending its fork to any length required, and the employment of two or more pairs of cutters in some cases is proposed. Two pairs of cutters ten inches apart will make a cut of twentyinches in length by moving the reamerrod vertically ten inches; three pairs will cut thirty inches for a movement of the reamer-rod of one-third this extent, and so on. The capacity of' the apparatus as regards length of cut mayithus be varied to any desired extent by simply adding more cutters or removing those which are not required. Two or more pairs of cutters may also be employed to form two or more chambers of a given length simultaneously. With a single pair of cutters, or with a gang of cutters, as above described, two or more chambers of any desired size may be formed at different points by shifting the reamer-rod relatively to the screw-sleeve, by means of the clamp-ring I, and in all cases the 'reaming action is accomplished without any than forming chambers, as, for example,the

turning off or removal of any projections which may be left by the drills in a well-bore designed to receive driven pipe.

The following is claimed as new in this invention, namely:

1. The tripod-frame composed of the swiv.

eled and adjustable legs A, the central vertical tube B, having a centering and wedging point, b, the head or table G, to which these are attached, and feet I) for attaching the structure to the surface, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination of the endless screw or worm L, the swiveled Worm-wheel J, and the screw-sleeve H, `with a nut, c, and a clampingcollar, I, for attaching the screw-sleeve to the reamer-rod, substantially as herein shown and described, as means for raising and lowering the cutters during the reaming operation.

3. The combination of the endless screw or worm L, the horizontal worm-wheel J carrying a spline, j, the screw-sleeve H, having a longitudinal groove, h, the fixed nut c, and the clampcollar I, formed on or attached to the upper end of the screw-sleeve, for raising, lowering, and simultaneously rotating, the cutters, in the manner herein set forth.

4. The swiveled hand-nut P, in combination with the threaded axial rod Gr, and the pivoted cutters T attached thereto, for projecting and retracting the latter with a positive movement, in the manner herein set forth.

5. The combination of the threaded cutterrod Gr, the swiveled hand-nut P, and the jamnut R, applied above the latter on the same thread, for projecting, retracting, and securely holding the cutters, substantially as herein specified. Y

D. W. SIPRELL. Witnesses:

-OcTAvUs KNIGHT,

WALTER ALLEN, 

